'Attack on Union and all states': Rahul Gandhi slams ‘One Nation, One Election’ policy

Digital Desk: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed on Sunday that the concept of "One Nation, One Election" is an attack on the Indian Union and all of its states.

Rahul Gandhi posted on X (formerly Twitter), "INDIA, that is Bharat, is a Union of States. The idea of 'one nation, one election' is an attack on the Union and all its States.”

The Congress MP's tweet comes after the government formed a high-level committee under the leadership of the late President Ram Nath Kovind to study the possibility of holding polls simultaneously.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday declined to join the panel that the federal government had assembled to consider the possibility of implementing the concept of "One Nation, One Election" into practice.

He has also expressed concern about Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, not being included on the committee. Instead of Kharge, the administration has appointed the previous opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to the committee.

Amit Shah, the union home minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, the president of the Democratic Progressive Azad Party, NK Singh, the former chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, Subhash Kashyap, senior attorney Harish Salve, and Sanjay Kothari, the former chief vigilance commissioner, are also on the panel.

The government notified the eight-member committee on Saturday to look into the matter of holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, state assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats and to provide suggestions as soon as possible.

The committee will review and make recommendations for specific revisions to the Representation of the People Act, the Constitution, and any other laws and regulations that would need to be changed in order to hold simultaneous elections.

Additionally, it will consider whether state ratification of the proposed constitutional revisions is necessary and make a recommendation.

The committee will also examine and make recommendations for potential responses to situations like a hung House, the adoption of a motion of no confidence, a defection, or any other similar occurrence in the event of concurrent elections.